KUALA LUMPUR: It will be a first round clash at the French Open that Lee Zii Jia has good reason to be wary of.
His opponent tomorrow casts a spectre of being his nightmare in the Malaysian Open second round in June.
Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito inflicted a shock 19-21, 21-19, 21-16 defeat on Zii Jia in 66 minutes.
However, Zii Jia believes he is on the upswing though he is still wary of Shesar.
Reaching the final of the Denmark Open on Sunday is an indication that Zii Jia is back at his best and is hungry again.
Today, the 24-year-old Kedahan reached a career high world No 2, and looks set for another strong showing at the French Open this week.
On paper, Zii Jia should have no problem in clearing the first round, but expect Shesar to give the Asian champion a hard time.
Shesar, 28, recently told the Indonesian media that he is 100 per cent fit and ready after suffering a calf muscle injury in the quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open.
"I was a little cautious after coming back from the injury, and it took some time for me to regain my rhythm.
"However, I have recovered fully and am ready to go," said Shesar, who unfortunately did not make it past the first round in the Denmark Open.
Zii Jia, on the other hand, has been in fiery form after poor outings at the World Championships in Tokyo in August and the Japan Open last month.
En route to reaching the final in Odense, the Thailand Open champion saw off the likes of Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands, Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan, 2018 Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia and 2021 world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore.
Unfortunately the Malaysian independent player couldn't go all the way and went down to China's Shi Yuqi in three games 21-18, 16-21, 21-12.
In his most recent interview with the Badminton World Federation, Zii Jia said he is happy to have regained his form and is raring to go in Paris, as well as the Hylo Open next week, before the World Tour Finals in Guangzhou in December.
Should Zii Jia clear the first round tomorrow, he is slated to take on either Japan's Kodai Naraoka or Canada's Brian Yang in the second.
Also in the same half of the draw is Jonatan, Kean Yew and world No 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
The other Malaysian men's singles in the fray is 2012 champion Liew Daren. The 35-year-old will face India's Thomas Cup winner H.S. Prannoy in the first round.